


The Unexpected Reason to Have Winchesters In Atlantis

by Cat_stiel



Series: Supernatural/Stargate AU [2]
Category: Stargate Atlantis, Supernatural
Genre: Alternate Universe- No Supernatural, Atlantis, Smart Dean Winchester, Smart Sam Winchester
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-01-31
Updated: 2021-02-06
Packaged: 2021-03-17 09:22:11
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 7
Words: 7,565
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29097972
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Cat_stiel/pseuds/Cat_stiel
Summary: Elizabeth Weir can't figure out why the Winchester brothers were sent to Atlantis or why Dean's file has a note saying "you might need him."
Relationships: Castiel/Dean Winchester
Series: Supernatural/Stargate AU [2]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/2149143
Comments: 11
Kudos: 92





	1. Prologue

Elizabeth Weir looked over the personnel files of all the new people who would soon be making Altantis their home. Some of the people were to replace the soldiers and scientists who had been lost in the battle with the wealth. But others were additional personnel, both soldiers and otherwise, ready to occupy the city now that they knew they could survive there.

Most of the appointments made sense; scientists and researchers to help uncover the mysteries of the city and soldiers to protect it. But she kept coming back to two files. 

One fit with the rest; Sam Winchester was a linguist apparently who was already as proficient in Ancient as anyone save maybe Daniel Jackson and he had the gene to use Ancient technology. He would be a good fit. The other file confused her. Dean Winchester, Sam's brother. Unlike Sam, Dean had no higher education, was even a high school dropout. He had been working as a mechanic before he was recruited to come to Atlantis with his brother. 

Elizabeth couldn't see why. He had the gene but so did other people on the expedition and, with gene therapy, soon everyone would be able to use the technology regardless. The only hint she had was a handwritten note from Daniel saying "You might need him." Vague and unhelpful.

She shrugged and made a mental note to put Dean in the rotation of the support staff (kitchen, cleaning, ect) until she found a proper fit for him.

At least the trip from earth had been quiet enough that Elizabeth was able to start meeting all the new people. She wanted to put faces to the names (even if they had pictures in their files) and help calm any nerves. Plus it helped if everyone knew who to go to if there were problems when they arrived. She looked forward to meeting the brothers and figuring out why she might need them.


	2. Chapter 1

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I wrote this over what felt like a very long time on multiple devices so I hope to get the whole thing out within a week or two but there may be delays due to life and editing. Hope you enjoy!!

It had been a couple months back at Atlantis before Elizabeth thought of the Winchesters again. She hadn't had a chance to meet them on the Daedalus due to the wraith computer virus. Since then she had been busy. Shepard's team had recruited Ronon Dex , then there was the case of McKay sharing his body with Cadman. She just hadn't had time to introduce herself to everyone.

She had briefly met the younger Winchester, Sam, when she had gone into one of the labs looking for Zelanka to help with the McKay problem. She had only time to greet him before she had been distracted. By the time she had been able to take time to possibly talk to him, Sam had disappeared. 

Now she was looking forward to meeting the brothers when she did her personnel reviews. She wanted to check in with everyone, particularly the newcomers. This was to keep on top of any problems that might arise as well as determine if there was anyone who would benefit from going back to earth when the Daedalus returned. There was no room on the mission for anyone who caused problems or couldn't handle the work. 

She was studying their files, neither had much in them, when John and his team showed up for a permission briefing. They were meeting with old trading partners of Teyla's. The briefing went quickly and they were wrapping up when Shepherd noticed the files. He turned them towards him reading the names.

"Who are the Winchesters?" He asked.

Elizabeth was about to answer but McKay interrupted her saying, " Winchester. Winchester. I think I heard Zelanka mention that name."

"I met the younger brother, Sam, in one of the science labs. That may be where you've heard about him," Elizabeth suggested.

McKay nodded but he had a distant look like he was trying to figure out a puzzle. Meanwhile Ronon had opened the file to get a look at the brothers' pictures.

"These guys?" He asked with a grin. "I love these guys."

Elizabeth looked at him in surprise. Shepherd seemed to share that look but Teyla was studying the pictures and nodding. 

"Wait, how do you know them?" Shepherd asked before Elizabeth could.

"Oh, they come by and train sometimes," Ronon said casually. "They're good, especially the older one, Dean."

"I have sparred with Dean as well," Teyla said. "He expressed interest in learning bantos fighting. He has progressed quite nicely." She paused then added, "he is also quite popular with the women, and maybe even some of the men."

Ronon's grin grew bigger. He started teasing Teyla about having a crush on the older brother, while Shepherd kept asking "how good are they? Better than me?" It was like working with children.

Finally she got them back on task and they finished their briefing. As they left to head through the stargate, she could still hear them teasing each other. She rolled her eyes then got ready for her next mission briefing.

She was surprised to see Sam Winchester's name listed on the team's roster for AR12. She read further and learned that it was the team's second visit to the planet and when there last time they had discovered ruins covered in Ancient. Upon their return they had requested a second visit with a translator. Elizabeth had agreed then promptly forgotten it. 

She studied Sam as the team leader went over the mission for her. He was quiet but when he did speak he sounded intelligent. He was quite handsome and very tall, maybe as tall as Ronon. He seemed to fit in well with his team even though this was his first time going on an expedition with them. It made her think that he was socializing with them other times.

The briefing ended with a reminder that mission control would be dialing in every two hours to check in on them. Then the team filed out towards the gate and the supplies they had left near it. 

Elizabeth watched as they waited for the gate to be dialed up. A man she recognized as Sam's older brother Dean went over to the group. He seemed to be arguing with Sam but, judging from the rest of the group's reaction, it didn't seem very heated. Sam kept shaking his head at something but finally gave in. With a defeated slump to his shoulders he turned around so Dean could put something into his backpack. The rest of his team were laughing. As the gate was activated and the team started to depart the brothers shared a brief hug before Sam stepped through the event horizon. Soon after that Dean left.

Elizabeth waited a little bit then went out to talk to the gate guards. "What was going on before the team left?" She asked them.

One of the men, an airmen Scott, laughed and said, "it's Sam Winchester's first time through a gate, ever, and his brother Dean showed up with a packed lunch like he was sending him off for his first day of school."

The other airmen chuckled but added, "I think he was just using it as an excuse to watch Sam go through the Stargate and listen for the confirmation that they made it through alright. I wouldn't be surprised if he shows up for the two hour check on."

Elizabeth nodded and left them to their jobs. 

She lost track of time as she worked and was only reminded of the two hour check in when she heard the gate being dialed. She stayed in her office, leaving it to gate command to manage. She would only step in if there were issues. 

She listened as the communications officer tried to hail the team. There was no response. She listened as they tried several times. After the third try she left the office. As she made her way over to the control center she noticed Dean Winchester standing off to the side. 

"Nothing?" She asked the communications officer, a little rhetorically. He shook his head and Elizabeth sighed. "Ok, they might just be in an area blocking radio waves. We are going to give them another hour then check in again. When we do I want AR6 on standby. If we don't get a response we will send them in to see if they can find out what happened." She didn’t look at Dean or acknowledge him in any way but she made sure to pitch her voice loud enough that it would reach him. She waited for confirmation that her orders had been heard by the gate crew then walked back to her office.

She had only sat down when there was a knock. She looked up to see Dean standing in the doorway. She raised an eyebrow and asked “What can I do for you, Mr Winchester?” She noticed that he frowned slightly when she called him Mr Winchester but otherwise his face was impassive.

“I would like to join AR6 if they have to go find Sam,” he said bluntly.

She stared at him. She should have expected this; everything she had read and heard about the brothers was that they were close. That didn’t mean she was about to let an untrained civilian compromise a potential rescue mission. She put on her best diplomatic face and tried to explain this to him. “I understand you are worried about your brother but if I have to send in AR6 on a search and rescue mission I can’t afford to put an untrained civilian with them. It could compromise the mission. I’m sorry but no.”

Dean’s face stayed neutral but his eyes went cold and Elizabeth suddenly thought she might be in danger. But Dean just nodded and left without a word. She let out a breath she hadn't even realized she had been holding. She found herself wishing Shepard was back at Atlantis but was reluctant to call him back unless she truly needed him.

When it was nearing the 2 hour mark again Elizabeth had a pre-mission briefing with AR6. She started by going over AR12's previous information about the planet as well as their current mission.

"Along with the regular members of AR12 is a civilian translator, Sam Winchester, " she informed them.

A couple of them just nodded, likely having already heard, but one woman, an air force medic if Elizabeth recalled, looked shocked. "Sam's missing?" She asked.

Elizabeth raised her eyebrows and the woman blushed. They finished the briefing without incident and Elizabeth watched as they headed out towards the gate. It was already dialed and the communications officer was attempting to get through to the missing team. She saw Dean approach the team and was briefly worried that he would try to persuade them to let him go with them but he just chatted a couple minutes. She saw the medic give him a brief hug before the team departed. 

They kept the gate open to stay in touch with the team as they made their way to the ruins AR12 had been investigating. They didn't report any evidence of conflict as they approached. That was both a comfort and a worry to Elizabeth. At least a sign of fighting would indicate what happened. 

They entered the ruins with no problems and started looking for clues. It was approaching the automatic cut off for the gate so Elizabeth reminded them that Atlantis would be dialing up the gate again in two hours and if they found the missing team before that to contact them immediately. Then the gate shut down.

Elizabeth was busy over the next couple hours. There had been an accident in one of the research labs involving ancient technology. Luckily no one was hurt but she was still in the middle of figuring out how big the impact was when the gate command called her to remind her that the two hour check in was approaching. She told the lead scientist, Dr Zolkins, to get a report ready when she knew more. 

Then Elizabeth headed back to the gate room.

She was unsurprised to see Dean Winchester waiting in the room when she got there. He was waiting fairly close to the gate but Elizabeth dismissed it as him just wanting to be close to hear anything. Once she reached the gate controls the gate technician dialed up the gate. 

“AR6 come in please,” The communications officer started as soon as the connection was established. “AR12 please come in.”

As she listened to the failed attempts to raise either team on the radio Elizabeth made the decision to recall Shepherd’s team. She had two teams missing and she needed Shepherd back to look at options for going after them. She didn’t want to send in another team blind. 

She was thinking through the logistics of it all when movement caught her eye. She turned her attention towards the gate just in time to see Dean Winchester grab a bag from the ground and dash through the gate. She yelled to put up the shield but it was too late and he was through. 

“Get him on the radio,” she yelled at the communications officer. 

The officer tried every frequency they could but there was no response. Elizabeth swore softly to herself. 

“Shut it down,” she ordered, “and dial Shepard's address. I need to talk to him.”


	3. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Just a short chapter.

"And he just ran through? Alone?" Shepherd repeated after Eliabeth finished telling him over the radio what had happened since his team had left. 

"Yes, alone. Now I have ten people missing. I need you back at Atlantis." She had enough respect for Shepherd to not make it an order but made sure the urgency was in her tone.

"Well, Teyla is just wrapping up the negotiations. With the hike back to the gate we'll be half hour, hour tops," he informed her.

"Well the sooner, the better," she stated then let the connection break.

She grabbed a quick dinner while she waited for Shepherd and his team to come back. She was surprised by how many people stopped her to ask if it was true that Sam Winchester was missing and that Dean had gone after him. She hadn’t known the brothers were so popular. And it wasn’t just women asking. There seemed to be about the same number of men also concerned.

She had just unfinished eating when she got a call on her radio that there was an offworld activation. Moments later it was confirmed that it was Shepherd’s IDC. She hurried back to the gate room.

Shepherd and his team had already arrived by the time she made it there. “What is going on, Elizabeth?” Shepherd demanded to know as soon as he saw her.

She gestured for the team to follow her and led them back to her office. She took a moment to sit down and pull up all the relevant data on her computer.

"About seven hours ago AR12 went through the gate on a routine mission," she informed the team. "They had visited the planet previously with no problems and had discovered some ruins covered in Ancient. This mission was to further explore the ruins and to that end they requested a translator. Sam Winchester went with them. At their two hour check in we got no response on the radios. I decided to wait until the 4 hour mark to worry in case they were in an area blocking radio waves. I did put AR6 on standby and when we failed to reach AR12 we sent them in. They saw no signs of conflict and made it to and into the ruins safely. Our communication ended when the gate shut down automatically. After another two hours without either team contacting us we dialed the gate again. This time there was no response from either team. I was preparing to shut down the gate and recall your team as Dean Winchester ran through the gate. All attempts to get him on the radio failed. either he was ignoring us or he didn't take a radio. I didn't want to send anyone else in so I shut down the gate and dialed up your gate," she finished.

"What was he thinking?" Teyla asked, consent in her voice.

"His brother was missing," Ronon said simply. "Dean traveled to another galaxy to keep an eye on Sam. You think he would just stand by when he went missing?"

Phrased that way, Elizabeth could kick herself for not watching Dean more closely. "That doesn't matter right now," she reminded them. "What matters is that we currently have ten people missing. Do what you need to do, gather what you need to take but in an hour I want you ready to go through the gate."

The team nodded, stood and started to file out of the room. Finally only Shepherd was left. He closed the door and turned to Elizabeth. "You alright?" He asked.

She slumped in her chair. "I should have kept a better eye on Winchester," she confessed.

"You couldn't have known," he reassured her.

Elizabeth shot him a look and said, " he asked to join AR6 to look for his brother. I said no, of course. He does not have any military training or any other skill that could have helped the mission. So I did know, at least to some degree." She straightened up again and said, " go get ready. Let's bring our people home."

Shepherd gave her a mock salute and disappeared.


	4. Chapter 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Actually thought I had already posted this then I turn on my computer and here it was just waiting for me to hit post. Basically my mind is a steel trap... which catches nothing!

They were just waiting for McKay to arrive before they dialed up the gate. He had been ready to go then apparently remembered some very important piece of equipment they couldn’t do without. Teyla and Ronon were chatting quietly together while Shepherd was going over all the information again with Elizabeth. Finally McKay ran in announcing he was ready to go. 

“Dial the gate,” Elizabeth ordered. She could hear the sound of the symbols being pressed and the Stargate started to spin. About half way through the sequence the gate suddenly sped up, turning the other direction. Elizabeth looked at the technician who announced "incoming wormhole."

"Raise the shield," Elizabeth ordered, somewhat unnecessarily as the technician had already done so.

The wormhole established and a moment later she heard "we are receiving AR6's IDC."

"Lower the shield," Elizabeth called. Seconds later the shimmer that indicated the force field was up disappeared.

Elizabeth noticed that soldiers all had their weapons ready and pointed at the gate as they waited for AR6 to either come through or send a radio message. It felt like a long time but was realistically only a minute or two before the gate rippled and the first person stepped through. Elizabeth watched as AR6, AR12, both Winchester brothers, and some man she had never seen before walked through the gate. A couple people were limping but otherwise everyone looked fine. 

The gate shut down and Elizabeth called for a medic to help the injured even as she turned to the leaders of each unit for explanation. Before she even asked a question, Shepherd was there to ask for her. "What happened?"

The leader of AR12, a Major Smith, said, "it was a maze. As soon as we entered the ruins the door closed behind us and the walls seemed to shift. Sam started to translate as we worked on finding a new exit. He was the one who realized it was a maze and the only way to get out was by answering puzzles and riddles. If you got it right a door would open up and you could go into the next room. If you got it wrong someone would get hurt. Holes would open in the floor or something like that. It was crazy!" 

"We had the same thing happen," major Toms, leader of AR6 stated. "Except we didn't have a translator so we were stuck in the first room."

"How did you escape?" Elizabeth asked.

Toms spoke up again, "we had been in the room for at least a couple hours when suddenly the door opened. Before we could get over our surprise and shout to not let it close Dean Winchester came striding in. The door closed behind him but he didn't seem to notice. Instead he asked where Sam was. We explained what had happened and he started staring at the Ancient writing. After a few minutes he touched something on the wall and a door opened. It wasn't the door out and he was already heading through so we went with him. It took awhile but eventually he opened a door and there was AR12."

Smith continued the story. "We had been working our way slowly through the maze until we reached a room Sam couldn't figure out. We were probably there an hour or so before the door behind us opened and Major Toms and his team came through. We hadn’t realized that so much time had passed but he told us that we had missed two check ins. Meanwhile the Winchester brothers apparently figured out the puzzle and we continued on. Eventually we made it to the exit and we hurried to the gate to dial Atlantis.”

Elizabeth had so many questions but they could wait for the next day and a proper debriefing. There was only one urgent question. “Who is your friend?” she asked, indicating the dark haired man standing by the Winchesters.

Toms shrugged. “We found him in one of the rooms near the exit. We don’t know how long he had been there. He seemed very happy to see us though.”

“Did he tell you how he even got there?” Shepherd asked.

Both men shook their heads. Smith explained. “He hasn’t said a word since we met him. I'm not even sure he understands us. When we reached the stargate we tried to get him to dial whatever gate address he was from but he didn’t seem to get it. Finally we decided to bring him with. We are hoping someone here might be able to communicate with him.”

Elizabeth nodded and turned to Shepherd. “I think we should put him in the guest quarters and I want a guard stationed outside. I don’t want an unknown wandering around Atlantis.”

Shepherd nodded and went off to arrange that. Elizabeth also dismissed the teams of AR6 and AR12, telling Smith and Toms that there would be a debriefing in the morning. As she watched the teams leave the gate room she realized she was no closer to understanding the mystery of the Winchester brothers.


	5. Chapter 4

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> John Shepherd's POV

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The first line of this chapter was one of the first things I had in my head when I started this story. It took me a little while to get to it but this chapter makes me happy. Hope you enjoy it too.

John Shepherd was ready to shoot someone. In the 5 day since AR12 and AR6's mission the man they had brought back had escaped his room each night. The first night they hadn't realized it until he had walked up to the guard to be let back in. John had assumed the guard had fallen asleep on the job and after a reprimand sent him off to bed. The next night a different guard decided to check the room in the middle of the night and discovered that the room was empty. He sounded the alarm and John had directed security teams to search for him. They hadn't found anything and again the man just showed up, waiting to be let in. Even when John had convinced Elizabeth to put cameras in the room the man had escaped. 

The big problem was that they had no idea how he did it or where he went. And they couldn't ask him because they had yet to figure out what language he spoke. They had been trying for days and so far the only person he seemed to even respond to was Sam Winchester. Not that he got anything either. John wanted to just send him away but Elizabeth insisted they find out what he knew and if he would be a threat to them.

John was turning down another corridor looking for the man when he nearly ran into Sam Winchester.

"What are you doing out this late?" He asked.

"Trying to find our guest," John told him, his voice full of frustration. "Every night he escapes to God knows where so we spend the night searching for him. Only for him to show up outside his door. By the time he does there is only about 4 hours to sleep before the day starts."

Sam had been nodding sympathetically but when John mentioned 4 hours his face took on a look of contemplation. "I have an idea," he said after a moment. He pulled a radio out of his pocket and switched it to a private channel. "Dean, are you in your room?" He asked into it. 

"No. I'm in the workshop," came a deep voiced reply.

Sam nodded and put the radio in his pocket. "Follow me," he said to John and started walking quickly down the corridor. John shrugged and followed.

The path Sam took him was convoluted. They took 2 different lifts and to be honest John wasn't sure he would be able to find his way back without a map or a guide. He had thought he knew Atlantis well but the ease in which Sam moved spoke of a greater familiarity.

"How do you know the way so we'll?" He asked as they made another turn.

"Hide and seek," Sam responded.

John had so many more questions but before he could ask they reached their destination. The door automatically opened as they approached and John was suddenly staring at what looked like a cross between a science lab and a mechanic’s workshop. On one table weapons, like a Wraith stun rifle and a Goa’uld staff weapon, were laid out. Some of them were whole but others had been taken apart, their components laid out neatly next to them. On another table was something that looked suspiciously like a still. And in the middle of the room was Dean Winchester and the man John had been searching for.

“Sammy!” Dean exclaimed happily when he spotted his brother, “You got to check out what I found.”

Sam wandered in to see what Dean had to show him. John saw that they were looking at some ancient writing that had appeared on one of the work stations. Sam seemed excited about whatever it was and talking quietly with his brother. John was just about to get their attention when Dean asked “so what brought you and GI John down here?” 

John was prepared to make a witty comeback but Sam spoke first. “Actually we were looking for him,” he said, indicating the man sitting quietly near Dean.

“Cas? What do you need him for?” Dean seemed genuinely puzzled.

“Cas?” John asked.

Dean looked at him like he was an idiot. “Yeah, that’s his name. Castiel.”

John and Sam shared a disbelieving look. “He told you his name?” Sam asked. "He actually spoke to you?" 

Dean gave a shrug. "He’s a quiet guy, I'll give you that. But I told him he could either tell me his name or I would make one up and it wouldn't be pretty. So he told me. Why? Haven't you been talking to him each day?"

"I've been talking at him," Sam stated. "He never answers. We don't even know what language he speaks."

"Have you tried ancient?" Dean asked, "cause I'm pretty sure that's what he speaks but he definitely understands English."

John tuned out the rest of the conversation as he radioed base security that he had found the missing man and would be bringing him back shortly. Then he turned to say "Well, this is fun and all but it's late and we need to get Cas..." the man glared at him so John finished, "...tiel," the glare subsided, "back to his room."

Dean got up and stretched. "I'll walk with you," he said. "It's about time I got my 4 hours anyways." 

John remembered how Sam had suddenly figured out where the man, Castiel, was after hearing how John was only left with 4 hour sleep and realized this was why. Apparently Dean only slept 4 hours and after he went to bed Castiel would return to his room. While that was interesting John was too tired to really care. He led the way out of the room but had to step back and let Sam go first as he wasn’t quite sure how to get back. He positioned himself at the back of the group to keep an eye on Castiel.

Sam once again made his way effortlessly back to the corridor he had first encountered John. There he hesitated and said “we go this way,” indicating the way to their sleeping quarters.

John nodded and said “I’m sure Castiel and I are fine to walk the rest of the way on our own.”

Sam nodded and Dean grinned at them. He turned to Castiel and said “Well get some shut eye and I’ll see you tomorrow.” Then the brothers disappeared around a corner.

John looked at Castiel who was staring in the direction Dean and Sam had gone and said, “Let’s get you to your room. Then I can get some sleep. It’s not like they’re going anywhere.”

Castiel gave him a blank look but obediently followed John back to his room. He went silently inside and sat down on his bed. 

John shook his head as he left. He didn’t really know what was going on but that was a problem for after he got some sleep. He was out the moment his head hit the pillow.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Here we are... half way through the week!! I don't know how it is where you are but for me the sun is shining and I can almost pretend like it is a warmer time of year (until I go outside).  
> Hope you are all well. Stay safe out there!!


	6. Chapter 5

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Back to Elizabeth's POV

Elizabeth was getting frustrated. It had been days since AR6 and AR12 had returned and they were no closer to finding anything out about their visitor as when they started the first day. Plus he had apparently been escaping his room each night and the security teams had so far been unable to discover where he had gone. She was reluctant to just let him leave in case he could become a threat to Atlantis but she was starting to warm to Shepherd's idea of just dropping him off on some planet.

She watched as a guard brought the man into the room they had set up to interview him several days ago. It was equipped with video feeds so she could record the interviews (even if nothing had happened yet) and also watch from her office. The man settled into his seat and waited silently. Sam Winchester arrived with Shepherd following him. While Sam started his preparations for his latest attempt to talk to the man, Shepherd stopped to talk with Elizabeth.  
He tried, and failed, to stifle a yawn. Elizabeth gave him a look and asked, “long night?” at Shepherd’s nod she continued, “and we still don’t know where he goes?”

Shepherd shook his head as he yawned again and Elizabeth thought he meant that no, they didn’t have an idea where the man went but when he could talk again he said, “no. We figured that out at least.”

Elizabeth raised an eyebrow and Shepherd elaborated. “I was looking for him last night when I ran into Sam,” he nodded his head towards Sam Winchester, “over there. He asked what I was doing, I told him and just as I was complaining about only getting 4 hours of sleep each night he figured it out.”

“And where was the man going?” Elizabeth prompted.

“The man, Castiel, was sneaking off to see Sam’s brother Dean. When Sam heard me talk about 4 hours of sleep he realized his brother was likely somehow involved; apparently Dean only required 4 hours of sleep. Sam led me to Dean’s workshop and there they both were.”

“Dean’s workshop?” Elizabeth asked, puzzled. She hadn’t assigned him any workspace let alone a whole room to work. She put that aside quickly and focused on what was important in the moment. “Castiel?”

“That’s what Dean said,” Shepherd told her. “I still haven’t heard the man speak or anything but when I almost called him the nickname Dean had given him, Cas, he glared at me until i said his full name.”

She had more questions but she put them aside as they watched Sam Winchester enter the room where the man, Castiel apparently, was sitting.

“Hello Castiel,” Sam greeted the man in English then he switched to Ancient. Elizabeth was still learning the language but from what she could understand Sam was asking Castiel where he was from and how he had come to be trapped in the Ancient ruin. Castiel listened politely but still said nothing. 

It went on for a while before Shepherd spoke up beside her. “I have an idea,” he said as he reached for his radio. Speaking into it he said, “Can someone find Dean Winchester and bring him to me?” There was an affirmative response on the other end and Shepherd put away his radio. 

While they waited John went into the room and asked Sam to step out.

“I’m sorry,” Sam said as soon as he reached Elizabeth. “I can tell that he is listening but he doesn’t seem to want to talk.”

Elizabeth agreed. She had been watching carefully and from what she could see it did appear that this Castiel understood Sam but had no desire to talk to him. She wondered briefly if he was mute or somehow unable to respond.

“Take a break,” she suggested. He nodded and went over to a nearby table where coffee was waiting. He grabbed himself a cup and sat down to study some papers he had with him. Elizabeth was just thinking of all the paperwork she should be doing herself when Dean Winchester walked in.

“Hey Sammy,” He greeted his brother happily. 

Sam scowled at him and said, “It’s Sam.” Then he asked “what are you doing here?”

Dean shrugged. Shepherd then spoke up. “Dean, you said that you have talked to Castiel before.” Dean nodded so Shepherd continued. “Can you talk to him now for us? He isn’t responding to anyone’s questions and we need to know who he is, where he’s from and how he came to be trapped in that maze with you.”

Dean grinned. “Classic get to know you questions. I can do that.”

Sam rolled his eyes and Elizabeth was struck by the sibling banter. There were no other actual sets of siblings on Atlantis, though people made their own pseudo families. It was interesting to see.

Dean headed towards the door then stopped. "You coming, Sam?" He asked his brother.

Shepherd answered instead. "Actually Castiel might feel more comfortable if it is just the two of you. Sam will stay out here and help translate if he needs to."

Dean shrugged and went inside.

Elizabeth watched on the video screen as Dean went in and sat down. She understood what Shepherd was trying to do, she just did know how this man was going to communicate with someone who spoke ancient.

"Heya Cas," Dean said after sitting down. The man, Castiel stared at him intensely. "I've got some questions I'm supposed to ask you," Dean told him. "You alright with that?"

Castiel gave no response. 

Dean closed his eyes for a moment the two things happened; Dean started speaking ancient and Sam Winchester gave an exasperated groan. Elizabeth had been so startled by the fact Dean spoke Ancient that she hadn't caught what he'd said but to her almost greater surprise Castiel answered , head tilted and a look of confusion on his face. Whatever he said made Dean laugh, a deep joyful sound. 

Dean asked another question and got a longer response this time. Elizabeth caught something about trapped, brother, and someone named Gabriel. She looked over to see Sam staring at the screen, a look of intense concentration on his face. She wanted to ask him what they were saying bit she didn't want him to miss anything. She was suddenly very glad the interview was being recorded. Next time they had contact with earth, she wanted to send it to Dr Jackson for independent translation.

Dean asked another question and Elizabeth heard Sam mutter, "seriously Dean?" in a tone of utter exasperation.

Elizabeth would have kept watching but she got an urgent call from a scientist about something she had to see "immediately." She turned to Shepherd, "stay here. When they are done I want Sam to give a report. I want to know exactly what was said."

Shepherd nodded and sat back with his cup of coffee to watch. Elizabeth glanced at Sam, who was so focused, she didn't think he had even heard her speaking. She sighed and went to find out what latest mystery Atlantis had thrown at her.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Feel free to guess why Sam is exasperated at Dean.


	7. Chapter 6

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Last chapter!! There is going to be a little prequel thing about Dr Jackson meeting the brothers that I will hopefully get out in the next day or two. Otherwise, this is it. I don't have any plans as of now to expand this universe. 
> 
> Thanks for joining me!

Elizabeth had completely forgotten about Sam Winchester and his report when she spotted him several hours later. She had been dealing with scientists and kitchen staff since she had left. Nothing had been urgent in any way (the scientists had discovered secrets to the universe but no weapons or defenses against wraith, and the kitchen staff were running out of potatoes), but it took up most of her day. She had been looking forward to a few minutes of quiet in her office.

But there was Sam, holding his laptop and looking like a student who had been sent to the principal's office. She sighed and radioed Shepherd to join her in her office. She gestured to Sam to follow her in and cleared a space for him to set up his computer.

"We are just waiting on Shepherd," she told him as he brought up the interview video.

He gave her a boyish smile and sat down in one of her guest chairs.

Shepherd arrived about five minutes later, and after a few pleasantries, they were ready for Sam's report. 

"Do you want the Cliffs notes version or a play by play with video?" He asked them.

"Cliff notes" "full version" Shepherd and Elizabeth said at the same time. Elizabeth gave Shepherd a look and he shrugged ruefully. Then she turned to Sam. "The play by play with video please." 

Sam cued up the video and played the first question Dean had asked and Castiel's response. "Alright," he started, "the first question Dean asked him roughly translates to 'do you come here often?' " Castiel replied that he had been in that room every day since arriving."

Sam played the next question and answer. "This next question basically translates to 'What was a guy like you doing in a place like that?'"

"Wait," Shepherd interrupted. "Was your brother interviewing him using pick up lines ?"

Sam nodded, looking annoyed. "The worst part is that he knew I was going to have to listen and translate everything."

Shepherd laughed hard and even Elizabeth had to smile but she was tired and wanted to get this over with. "What did Castiel say?"

Sam got excited then. "According to Castiel his brother Gabriel tricked him into the maze and left him there. He wasn't sure how long it had been or how many rooms he had solved before getting stuck in the one we found him."

"Why didn't he make it all the way through?" Elizabeth asked.

Sam played another section of the video where Castiel was talking and Dean interrupted him saying the number 7,8,9 before continuing in ancient. Sam looked at them and said, "if you remember the maze used puzzles and riddles to open doors. The room Castiel was stuck in asked the question 'why was 6 afraid of 7?' Castiel thought it was because 7 is a prime number and could be considered intimidating."

"Because 7 ate 9," Shepherd suddenly said.

Sam nodded. "Whoever built the maze spoke English and the only way through that room was a knowledge of English puns."

Elizabeth raised her eyebrows. "No wonder he was trapped."

Sam agreed. "Dean asked him more questions about Gabriel but Castiel didn't answer them. All he would say was that Gabriel was his brother." 

He played another clip. "Here Dean tried to find out where Castiel was from."

"Another pickup line?" Shepherd asked with a grin.

Sam sighed and nodded. "roughly translates to 'I'm new to the area. Can I have directions to your place?' "

Elizabeth chuckled. "Did it work?" She asked.

"No," Sam said. "He seemed reluctant to tell Dean. Dean even asked seriously for a gate address but Castiel just said he was from around." Sam shrugged at their puzzled look as. "Best translation I've got." 

Elizabeth nodded. "Did he get anything else from him?"

Sam played some more video. Dean asked another question but this time Castiel responded with a question of his own. Whatever he said made Dean grin, and to Elizabeth's amazement, blush a little.

"Dean tried to ask Castiel what he does, again through a bad pick up line." Sam started but Shepherd cut in. "What was the pick up line?"

Sam rolled his eyes but translated, " 'besides being sexy what do you do?' "

Shepherd burst out laughing. Even Elizabeth couldn't stop herself from chuckling. The lines were getting worse and worse. She felt almost bad making Sam translate his brother's bad pick up lines.

"The good news, or bad news, depending on how you look at it, is that Castiel finally seemed to have clued in at that point. Best translation for his question is 'was that flirtation?' The next couple minutes is them flirting, which I'd prefer not to translate if you don't mind."

Elizabeth nodded and Sam gave a sigh of relief. He fast forward to a point where Castiel was talking again. "This is at the end of the interview. Castiel admitted that he had been watching Dean and that might be why Gabriel trapped him in the maze. He then seemed to realize what he had said and refused to say another word. Dean tried for a couple more minutes then declared the interview over."

Sam turned off the video. The silence seemed deafening. Elizabeth shared looks with Shepherd and saw that he had come to the same conclusion as her; This man Castiel was most likely an Ancient. She glanced over at Sam and realized that he had figured it out a while ago, likely when he was watching the conversation the first time.

“So what do we do with him now?” she asked out loud.

Sam shifted nervously then spoke up, “Can I give my opinion?” At her nod he continued, “If Castiel is actually what we think he is we should leave him alone.” Shepherd started to protest but Sam just kept going. “Everything I have read about the Ancients makes me think that Castiel was ascended and there are rules for ascended beings. I'm not sure if he’s breaking them by being here but as long as he is not helping us advance beyond our means and staying neutral there might not be the consequences. Remember ascended beings are pure energy and have been documented to have killed hundreds of people in minutes. I think it's better to avoid the notice of the Ancients as much as possible.”

“Then why is he here?” Elizabeth asked.

“Dean,” Sam said simply. “I don’t know how he noticed him or why but something about my brother made an ascended ancient come down to Atlantis. So far Castiel has been nice enough to sit in his room and let us ask him questions but as we saw from his nightly escapes, he doesn't have to. He can leave at any time. I think it is best if we treat him as a guest, not a resource and maybe he will be willing to help us understand Atlantis a bit better. Plus I’m not sure we could stop him if we tried,” Sam added at the end.

Elizabeth had to agree with his assessment. If Castiel was actually an ascended ancient there was nothing any of them could do to hold him or stop him. The best course was to accommodate him. And as Sam had said maybe he would be willing to help them with understanding Atlantis and the Ancients who had lived there.

“Pull the guard from Castiel’s room,” Elizabeth told Shepherd. “I will draft a memo giving him full access to Atlantis. That should hopefully alleviate any concerns.”

“Now maybe people can get some sleep,” Shepherd commented as he rose to follow her order. Elizabeth gave him a knowing look. 

Sam seemed to realize that the meeting was over and started to pack up his computer. Elizabeth watched and realized that this was the first time she had ever had Sam alone. She thought of all the questions she had been wondering about Sam and his brother Dean. But as he turned to leave she only asked the one that had been bothering her the most, “Sam?” He turned to face her. “Did you teach your brother Ancient?”

Sam looked surprised for a moment before laughing. ”No, he actually taught me. I’m pretty sure it’s because of him that we got to come here.”

Then he gave her a quick nod of farewell and left. Elizabeth sat back in her chair. She felt no closer to understanding the mystery of the Winchester brothers than the first time she had seen their file. Well, life in another galaxy was at least never boring.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Poor Sam! Dean is the worst! Also I had a lot of fun thinking of bad pickup lines. I had a lot more but decided to keep things short and simple. I was pretty proud of the ones I included though.


End file.
